Mario Kart DS Reveiw

Mario Kart DS Reveiw

Story:
The story is the same as every Mario Kart game before it. You take on the role of a character from the Mario series of games, and out to prove that they are the best kart racer in the mushroom kingdom.

Graphics:
What is truly surprising is that the graphics are top notch; the graphical quality is only a few notches below what the look of Mario Kart Double Dash on the Gamecube. Each of the new levels that you race through is large and impressive, and so too does the look for all of the backgrounds for each stage, even the Classic levels have been updated and improved visually while retaining their original feel.

Music:
The Music is vintage Mario Kart catchy and fun. Even the original tracks use revamped and updated versions of the original music from their respective games. Every blip and bop, and burnout feels just like every Mario kart game you have ever played. You can not help but turn the sound all the way up when you play this game which is something that I have not said about many DS games.

Game Play:
Mario Kart DS fortunately does not stray too far form the family tree when it comes to control and game play, which is a good thing because fans familiar to the series will have no problem adjusting to the game, and new players will adjust quickly to the nuances of the game. New weapons add a bit more strategy to the game as well; the Bullet Bill power up can bump you up 4 or 5 spots almost instantly, or the Blooper power up will temporarily blind all of the enemies ahead of you

Design:
Nintendo did another good job in this game. You now get to select 2 different karts for each character at the start of the game, with more to be unlocked as you play through. There are 16 new courses and 16 classic courses from the 4 other Mario kart games, though I personally would have liked to have seen all of the courses from the venerable series, because while I liked many of the courses from the other games that they selected they missed some of my favorite stages, like DK jungle form the N64, Bowser's Castle 1 from the SNES. Other new things offered in Mario Kart are a "Mission Mode" which is a series of challenges including boss fights, and a different type of battle mode called "Shine Runners", essentially a he whom has the most shine sprites in the end is the winner. But the thing that everyone is so geared up about is this is the first official Mario Kart game to be able to be played online so create you own logo and challenge your friends, or family, or a stranger from 3 states away

DS owners, Mario Kart fans, and portable gamers everywhere, start your engines. This is another Killer App for your Nintendo DS. All self-respecting DS owners will own this game. All and all Mario Kart DS gets my highest recommendation.

Graphics
9/10

Game play
10/10

Sound
9/10

Fun factor
10/10

Tilt
10/10

Average score
9.3

Mario Kart DS:
Pros:
Excellent Graphics
More karts
More modes
New online play
New power ups